Concern is growing over a boom in back garden chicken keeping. As many as a million hens may now be kept in coops and sheds across Britain and the trend is being encouraged by the fact that hen keeping is now regarded as being 'chic' and is even reaching roof gardens and penthouse balconies.
Worries centre both on the welfare of the hens and on the disease implications for the commercial egg industry. In the event of an outbreak of Avian Influenza or Newcastle Disease, for example, Defra officials will have no means at all of identifying the thousands of small flocks that could act as reservoirs for disease.
One estimate has suggested that as many as 200,000 households—that's one per cent of the total—now keep laying hens. If each has an average of just five layers then that is a total 'invisible' flock of a million birds.
Over the past twelve months feed suppliers have reportedly logged a six per cent increase of sales in small bags for back-garden keepers and the Poultry Club of Great Britain has seen membership rise by 15 per cent.
The small-scale fowl fad is said to be being encouraged by celebrities who keep chickens, like the radio personality and DJ John Peel. He makes regular references to his poultry on his Saturday morning show, Home Truths, on Radio 4.
Now the chic-hen movement has been given another boost by the launch of a new 'urban hen coop' at the Urban Gardens Show in London.
The Eglu, pictured above, is said to have designer chic and comes in a kit complete with two 'organic free range' hens and an instruction book. The package costs ÂŁ325. The production company, Omlet, says it is "beautiful, contemporary, available in a range of fresh and vibrant colours and the world's first chicken house designed for the town garden."
The Times reported that "The coop is an indicator of the inroads being made by the once-derided Good Life brigade amid the urban sprawl, with the wealthy West London suburbs of Richmond, Twickenham and Putney leading the way.
"Many people are opting to keep hens in the back garden, on a roof garden or even on a penthouse apartment balcony."
The RSPCA is concerned about the welfare implications of the boom. "We are not against people keeping hens as long as they have the facilities, time and knowledge to do the job properly," said a spokesperson. "In the wrong hands suffering could result. Ignorance could lead to neglect, poor diet, inadequate housing and disease. Prospective keepers need to understand the hen's requirements for space and the damage that can be done to gardens."
Earlier this year the Ranger raised concerns about welfare issues of small-scale producers after the publication of a new book on hen keeping which displayed an alarming ignorance of the basics of poultry keeping and accepted muddy conditions, outbreaks of disease and infestations of mite and rats as normal.
BFREPA chairman Tom Vesey commented: "The welfare of the birds is paramount and it is all too obvious what can happen when the ill-informed are taking on hens on a whim and then attempting to keep them in totally unsuitable conditions. It is also ironic that while commercial producers face so many constraints and so much monitoring, as many as a million hens are being kept with no controls whatsoever.
"But the implications for disease control are a major concern for the entire industry. If there are as many as a quarter of a million poultry keepers who are not registered in any way then attempting to stamp out a major disease outbreak may prove to be all but impossible. In the event of an AI or ND crisis there would no doubt be appeals for individuals to come forward but it is not hard to imagine there reticence when they know it means that there beloved pet hens—no doubt all named—will have to face the chop."